


Right in Front of Her for All This Time

by nakedrednailpolish



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Best Friends, F/F, Fluff, Swan Queen Week, Swan Queen Week 2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-07-16
Packaged: 2018-04-09 16:38:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4356521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nakedrednailpolish/pseuds/nakedrednailpolish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma, Regina, Mary Margaret, David, Ruby, and Killian take a trip to an amusement park during the summer before their senior year of high school. Filled with fluff and best friend romance.<br/>Written for Swan Queen Week 5, Day 5: Best Friend Romance</p>
            </blockquote>





	Right in Front of Her for All This Time

            Emma stepped off the roller coaster, feeling dizzier than ever. She brought a hand to her head as the rest of her friends followed her past the exit gate to the Neon Tiger and gathered around a nearby tree.

            “Now what?” Ruby exclaimed, still buzzed from their last ride.

            “I fancy another roller coaster. You lovelies okay with that?” Killian suggested with a smirk.

            “I don’t know,” Mary Margaret replied, leaning up to kiss her current boyfriend, David. “I’m still a little dizzy from the last ride. What do you think, Charming.”

            Regina groaned. Despite the couple’s relationship entering its third year, she was never in favor of their relationship and therefore despised any of the couple’s cheesy comments. “That moniker is disgusting. I don’t know why you insist on calling him that.”

            “Maybe because I _am_ charming?” he replied, pecking his girlfriend’s lips again. “Yeah, I’m a little dizzy, too. You guys wanna sit down?”

            “No! I wanna ride another ride!” exclaimed Ruby.

            “How about the Ferris wheel,” Emma suggested, always neutralizing the waters within group disagreements.

            “What, so those two can have a car to themselves and make out the whole time? No, thank you,” grumbled Regina.

            Emma started walking towards the ride anyway, waving her hand for her friends to follow her. “C’mon guys, we’ll sit together, all six of us.”

            Mary Margaret and David started walking, followed reluctantly by Killian and Ruby, who were avid to ride another thriller. Only when the rest of the group had already moved ahead did Regina tag along the rear end.

            Navigating their way to the back of the line, the group settled next to each other, the happy couple already getting steamy despite the 90 degree weather. Emma found herself across from them, between Regina and Ruby, with Killian making faces behind David’s back. She tugged on her grey tank top and readjusted her sunglasses before taking out her cell phone to play a game.

            Regina, on her left, was reapplying sun block for the third time that day, even though they hadn’t made it to lunch yet.

            “C’mon, Regina, you already have enough sunscreen on,” argued Ruby, pulling her sunglasses from where they were hooked onto her bright red tube top between her breasts and put them on.

            “Yeah, everyone knows you don’t burn,” Emma added.

            Killian smoothed his hand down his black Neon Tiger T-shirt hungrily. “You actually tan quite nicely, love.” This brought him a shove from Ruby, who always berated him for the comments he offered to _all_ of his female friends.

            Regina ignored their protests, continuing to slather white goop onto her olive arms and legs. “How do you think I avoid sunburns? I use _sun. block._ ” Handing the tube to Emma, she turned to face away from the group, displaying her bare shoulders and back.

The blonde, who had been used to this action since they’d met in elementary school, needed no command to know what she was supposed to do. “Still Regina,” she argued, squirting the lotion into her hand. “Three times before lunch? I don’t think it’s necessary.”

            Emma started spreading the lotion onto Regina’s toned back, lifting the thin cords of her black spaghetti strap top to cover all of the exposed skin.

            “It’s quite necessary,” Regina countered. “Or would we all like to relive Mary Margaret’s incident during sophomore year?”

            The group quieted, remembering the dark-haired girl returning from the end-of-summer marching band trip burnt to a crisp. She’d been very moody afterwards, especially when asked to move her body more than a few inches. Though her friends would never tell her so, Mary Margaret had been quite insufferable.

            “Hey, that was one time…” she said, breaking away from her boyfriend and adjusting her fitted white T-shirt so it more effectively covered her shoulders. After a moment, she seemed to think better of the motion and gave Regina an apologetic look. “Maybe I should put some on, too…”

            Wordlessly, the brunette turned back around to face the group and moved the bottle from Emma’s hands to Mary Margaret’s. “Knock yourself out.” She had to bite her tongue from adding _literally_.

            “Wow,” Ruby commented, staring over Killian’s shoulder.

            “Wow what?” Emma asked, following her friend’s gaze. She was staring at the line for the Night Raider, which was mostly filled with younger kids, teenagers, and their parents or chaperones. A toned blond man shifted from foot to foot, hands shoved into his pockets, muscles bulging out of his T-shirt. “Him?”

            “No, not him. The girl beside him.” Emma shifted her gaze, realizing who she was talking about. A tall, slender woman, probably in her mid-twenties, stood next to the man, hand combing through her thick mane of coffee hair, ass almost completely on display due to the tightness of her neon shorts.

            “Shit,” Emma whispered. “She’s hot.”

            Immediately, four pairs of eyes joined the other two in their gawking. Emma was surprised that the woman hadn’t noticed the attention she’d drawn. Mary Margaret looked away first, resuming her sun block application while the other five gaped at the woman.

            Killian smirked, no doubt a slew of sexual fantasies rampaging through his dirty mind. “What I wouldn’t _give_ to get that woman on her back…” This time, it was David who retaliated, stomping on his sandal-clad foot with exceptional strength. The action helped tear David’s eyes away from the woman, keeping Mary Margaret from getting too jealous.

            “Ay, mate, mind the toes, would you?” Killian recoiled, lifting his knee to his chest so he could clutch his throbbing foot between his hands.

            “You deserved that one,” Ruby commented. “The guy’s pretty hot, too, but, _damn_ , those _legs_ …” Shooting one last lustful look in the woman’s direction, she followed the rest of the group as the line moved forward.

            They climbed into the car – Ruby, Mary Margaret, and David on one side with Regina, Emma, and Killian on the other – and buckled in. The token couple immediately started to get cozy, with Mary Margaret snuggling into her boyfriend’s side, the two locking fingers like it was the most natural thing in the world.

            Emma couldn’t help but be envious. She’d gone from boyfriend to girlfriend and back to boyfriend throughout her entire high school career; she was unused to being single and not having someone constantly beside her.

            Regina had always been there of course – healing her broken heart after August moved away, wiping tears after Neal cheated on her, and comforting her after things with Lily got too hard. Having a best friend was great – numerous sleepovers, cheering each other on at school competitions, making fun of exes – but it was never enough. She always longed for something more – someone to hold, someone to kiss, someone to make her feel like she mattered. But for now, as they entered their senior year of high school, she had no one – aside from the friends in front of her – that really, truly cared about her.

            When the car stopped at the top, Ruby squealed and pointed across the park. “That one next!” she exclaimed, indicating a twisted metal contraption some ways down.

            Mary Margaret and David were too far gone to really notice Ruby’s antics, but Regina and Emma turned and glanced at the ride over their shoulders, if only to humor her excitement.

            That excitement dissipated suddenly when the car lurched beneath them. The girls let out short shrieks as they gripped the sides of the ride tenaciously.

            A loud laugh erupted beside Emma, and everyone turned to glare at Killian.

            “What? It’s fun!” As if to demonstrate his point, he shifted his weight again, sending the car sideways and the other five into another panic.

            “Killian!” “Stop!”

            “Quit rocking the damn car!” Regina commanded, one hand clutching the side of the carriage, the other squeezing Emma’s thigh in fear.

            “Why?” he laughed, causing the car to swing again.

            Ruby pointed her finger at him. “Killian, you stop right now or so help me I’ll –”

            “You’ll what? Kick me off? Whatever. You all have no sense of adventure.” Killian slumped over the side of the car in defeat, sending one last residual lurch through their seats before giving up.

            “Thank you,” Regina breathed, running a hand through her hair before realizing her other hand was still clutched to Emma’s leg. “Sorry,” she added.

            “It’s okay,” Emma replied, nudging their shoulders together playfully. “I know you don’t like heights.” Regina offered a soft smile, still wary of the distance between her and the ground. She hadn’t been afraid until Killian had started rocking the car.

            “So,” Mary Margaret announced, pointing at the ride Ruby had indicated. That one next?”

            As if on cue, Emma’s stomach rumbled.

            “I think lunch first,” she said, laughing.

            David rubbed his own stomach. “Yeah, I have to say lunch. I’m starving!”

            “ _Then_ we’ll ride that one,” assured Regina, also starting to feel hungry.

            “Okay!” Ruby giggled. The carriage started to move again, and after a few more loading stops, went for a few rounds in a row before it was their turn to get off.

*

            The closest food stand was a French fry place that served gigantic baskets of fries with various condiments. Mary Margaret and David decided to split one, Regina and Ruby shared one, and Emma and Killian each had their own.

            “You’ve got some cheese on your mouth,” David flirted, leaning in to kiss away the nonexistent condiment from Mary Margaret’s mouth. Beside Emma, Regina made a gagging motion before popping another ranch-soaked fry into her mouth.

            Smiling, Emma scooped up a few cheesy fries between her fingers and stuffed them into her mouth. When she looked back at Regina, the brunette was laughing.

            “Wha?” she asked, mouth still full.

            Killian cut in from across the table. “I believe now _you_ have cheese on your lovely face, or more accurately, your nose. I could come over there and clean it up for you if you prefer…”

            “No, I got it,” Regina interrupted, already wiping the yellow goo from Emma’s nose with her index finger and subsequently sucking it off.

            “Thanks,” Emma laughed, shoveling more fries into her mouth.

            “I can’t believe it’s our senior year,” Mary Margaret said, taking a sip of her soda.

            “Yeah, it seems like just yesterday we were playing on the playground,” commented Emma.

            From the other side of Regina, Ruby raised a fry in Emma’s direction, causing some ketchup to flick off and into Emma’s basket. “That _was_ yesterday, remember? It was getting dark out, but you were like, ‘Let’s go swing!’ and those two ended up making out beneath one of the slides.” The couple in question blushed slightly at the memory.

            “You know what I mean,” Emma commented. “When we were little kids. When we made friends by sharing crayons and play-dough.”

Regina spoke up from beside her. “Do you remember when we met?”

            The blonde shook her head. “I’m not sure. Weren’t we always in the same class?”

            Regina shrugged. “Well, yes, but when we _really_ met. That kid Sidney was following me around everywhere and he wouldn’t leave me alone…”

            “Oh yeah…so I walked up to him, punched him square in the face, and said…”

            “‘Leave her alone. Go eat some play-dough,’” they finished together.

            “I remember now,” Emma laughed. “That kid was so weird.”

            Widening her eyes, Regina said, “Tell me about it.”

            “Now, wait a minute,” Killian interjected. “You’re saying the two of you met because Swan punched a lad in the face.” It was more of a statement than a question.

            “Yeah,” Emma confirmed.

            “I guess you’ve always enjoyed punching lads that go after Regina, then, haven’t you, Swan?”

            The table went quiet.

            Yes, it was true that Emma had punched the brunette’s last boyfriend, but that was immediately after they discovered he’d been cheating on Regina with another girl, or rather, he’d been cheating on another girl with Regina. Apparently, he’d been dating a girl from his school, and was also dating Regina, who went to a different school. They wouldn’t have known or talked to each other, and it’d be hard for gossip to fly between the two schools. Neither probably would’ve found out about the other had Regina not walked in on them at his house mid-make-out session. They had planned a date that evening and she came early to surprise him. Turns out she was the one who got a surprise.

            “They both deserved what they got,” Emma defended quietly, remembering the way Regina trembled in her lap as tears streaked down her face. That night, it was about bad teen romance movies and chocolate ice cream, but the next day, which happened to be a track meet between the two schools, it was about revenge. After the meet was over, Emma located Robin’s team in the parking lot and punched the bastard right in the nose.

            Regina looked at her lap, trying not to think about what had happened. It was only a few months ago, and she still felt like an idiot for being played like that.

            “Right… um,” Ruby said, trying to change the subject. She motioned to Mary Margaret. “We met in fourth grade. I always played by myself, but you were the first person to ever come talk to me.”

            “Yeah, and then they combined elementary schools when we got to middle school, and we were all in the same class,” added Mary Margaret. “Do you remember that volcano we made for the science fair?”

            “That piece of shit? We never got it to work,” Regina remembered.

            Emma drank from her soda before saying, “Yeah, we did. You must not have been there that day. Mary Margaret brought in baking soda instead of baking powder and we got it to erupt.”

            “Oh yeah… and then you got it all over me!” David added.

            “Wait,” Regina said, motioning between the couple. “I thought you two didn’t start hanging out until high school.”

            “We didn’t,” David said. “That just planted the first seed.” He smiled down at his girlfriend and they rubbed their noses together.

            “Aw, baby.”

            Regina groaned again, loud enough so the whole table could hear it.

*

            The group reminisced until their food was gone, then got in line for the Stomach Twister.

            Regina again pulled out her tube of sunscreen and began reapplying. Emma was about to argue, but realized she probably needed a second coat. The last time she applied sunscreen was before they entered the park.

            Instead, she held out her hand for the tube after Regina squirted some out, and the teenagers busied themselves with applying sun block. Once they’d covered their limbs, faces, necks, and chests, Emma turned and lifted her long blonde locks out of the way so Regina could have access to her shoulders.

            The brunette squeezed some white goo into her hand, rubbed them together to warm it up, and massaged it into the blonde’s skin. Her hands lingered longer than usual, probably because of the heat and the emotions they’d dug up during lunch. She took extra time to make sure enough lotion was rubbed in; there was no way she’d let Emma get a sun burn because she’d failed to put enough on or missed a patch of skin. Her fingers slipped slightly underneath the fabric of Emma’s grey tank, just to be sure she didn’t miss anywhere.

            When Regina was done, she passed Emma the bottle and faced away so that the blonde could reciprocate. The brunette exposed more skin than Emma with her spaghetti straps, so the blonde took a bit more time to cover it all. She could only imagine the lecture she’d receive if she allowed Regina to get even slightly burnt. Her hands skimmed across smooth shoulders, over defined shoulder blades, along the knobs of her spine. Regina had nice skin – much smoother than Neal and August’s, and much tanner than Lily and Ruby’s. The blonde silently admired the darkness of her friend’s tan, wondering if she would ever be able to get that brown or if she would just burn like toast. Probably the latter.

            After she was finished, Emma handed the sun block back to Regina, who stowed it away in her bag. Regina looked up and surveyed the crowd who walked though the park, eyeing a small family that passed their line.

            “What’s their story?” she asked Emma, watching the family stop at a kid-friendly ride further down.

            Emma leaned over the bars that controlled the line, eying the mother as she pulled a kid from the stroller and the older child ran around in circles with impatience.

            “I say: picture perfect family goes on a trip to an amusement park. The dad didn’t want to go but was dragged along anyways. The kids were well-behaved all morning but are now driving the parents crazy.”

            Just as Emma finished her prediction, the smaller child started to cry, and the father turned away and rubbed his forehead.

            “I think you’re right,” Regina acknowledged.

Emma pointed to a group of attractive women in their early twenties, all of them wearing short-shorts and bikini tops. “What about them?”

            “On summer break from college. They didn’t want to go home, but didn’t want to stay on campus, either.”

            “I bet they’d like _my_ class,” Killian interrupted, eyes filled with lust as the girls started walking away, displaying their backsides to the group. “I could offer them extra credit if they came to my office after hours and –”

Regina slapped his arm. “You are the definition of a fuckboy. Besides, this is _our_ game.”

            Killian shrugged, unaffected by his friend’s violence. “I’m just stating the truth, is all.”

            Ruby spoke up. “Remind us why we hang out with you?”

            Killian smirked, standing up a little straighter. “Because I’m devilishly handsome. And fun. And because I beat up the _real_ fuckboys who mess with your hearts.”

            Ruby rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, eyes flicking to the group of women as they disappeared around a bend.

Finally, the group made it to the front of the line. Killian and Ruby took a car near the front, Mary Margaret and David settled behind them, and Regina and Emma sat down in the car after that.

Their thighs ended up smashed against each other in the small space. Their skin was sticky from the sunscreen and hot from the temperature. Emma couldn’t deny that the contact was nice.

            “Sorry,” the blonde mumbled, digging beneath her for the seatbelt.

            “It’s fine,” Regina reassured, passing her end of the seatbelt to Emma so she could snap them together.

“Welcome to the Stomach Twister! Please secure all loose articles and keep your hands and feet inside the car...”

            *

As the group walked away from the ride, Emma felt her stomach clench. She probably shouldn’t have eaten so many cheesy fries before riding such a fast and twisted roller coaster.

            “Emma, you okay?” Regina asked. “You look a little green.”

            “I’m fine,” she insisted, stumbling towards the nearest bench.

            “I think you’re not fine.” The brunette sat down beside her and rubbed her back. “Was the ride too much right after lunch?”

            Emma’s body lurched as her belly twisted again. Nodding, she brought her hand to her mouth to stop any vomit from coming out.

            “Well, I feel fine,” Killian announced. Mary Margaret glared at him before returning her attention to Emma.

            “Maybe we should rest for a while, give Emma’s stomach time to catch up with her.”

            “No,” Emma argued as her body heaved again. “No, you guys go ahead. I’ll just sit out for a ride or two and then I’ll be fine.”

            “Are you sure?” Ruby asked, squatting down in front of her to get a better look at her face.

            “Yeah,” Emma said. “Go ahead. I’ll just sit here. Text me when you get off the next ride.”

            Most of the group started walking away, offering pats on the shoulder and “Feel better Em”s, but Regina remained seated on the bench.

            “Aren’t you going?” Emma asked, wrapping her arms against her active stomach.

            “No, I’ll sit with you.”

            “You don’t have to, Regina. You can go on another ride with them. I’ll be okay.”

            The brunette crossed her legs, as if to solidify her position. “I’m staying. I’m not gonna let my best friend sit by herself while she’s on the verge of puking.”

            Emma was about to argue when another shockwave rippled through her body. “Can we not mention anything about puking?” she asked.

            “Okay,” Regina said. She watched another group of riders exited the Stomach Twister, most of them laughing and having fun, though one girl looked very queasy. Another girl had her arm around her shoulders as they walked, and when they sat down several benches away from Regina and Emma, their hands folded together immediately. The girl who was well placed a soft kiss to the temple of the girl who wasn’t.

            “Do you think they’re dating?” Regina asked, nodding to the girls, who were sitting very close together now.

            Emma lifted her eyes to the pair, noticing their hands and the way they were sitting so intimately. “Probably,” she supplied, happy for the distraction. “How long have they been together?”

            “I think they were best friends for a long time before they realized they had feelings for each other. Then they got together, and have been inseparable ever since.”

            “Nah,” Emma vetoed. “I think they met like a month ago, and it was like love at first sight.”

            Regina eyed their movements, how they were so natural, how the brunette girl knew exactly how to comfort the blonde girl. “I still stand by what I said. They’re so intimate. She knows how to take care of her. Definitely friends for a long time.”

            Emma shook her head. “Okay, so maybe they were friends, but see how lovey-dovey they are? Totally just got together.”

            The brunette nodded. “I buy that.” She glanced at her friend. “Are you feeling any better? I have gum if you need it.”

            Emma uncurled herself and sat up straighter, realizing the nausea had abated tremendously. “Yeah, I think I’m feeling better, but I’ve got that weird taste of bile in the back of my throat. Can I have some gum?”

            Already digging in her bag, Regina produced two sticks of gum – one for her and one for Emma.

            “Do you want to walk around some?” the brunette prompted, slinging her bag onto her back.

            Emma popped the gum into her mouth and slowly stood up, testing her legs and stomach. “Yeah, walking around sounds good.”

            Regina stood up and stuck her own gum into her mouth. “Okay, let’s walk.”

*

            “The game is rigged, Emma. There’s no way you can win that,” Regina challenged, eyeing the game with disdain.

            Emma rolled her eyes. “Watch me,” she said, determined, as she approached the booth. Throwing some cash onto the counter, she addressed the pimply teenager who was running the booth. “Gimmie some balls.”

            The brunette giggled at her statement, watching the boy blush, pick up her money, and count it.

            “Any stack you want,” he told her, pulling out three baseballs from beneath the counter.

            Emma licked her lips and picked up her weapons, eyeing the stack of bottles that was closest to her.

“Okay, Regina, watch this.” The blonde tossed one ball up into the air and caught it with her right hand, narrowing her eyes at the target and readying herself in a good throwing stance. Rearing back, she pitched the ball at the tower of bottles, only knocking over two out of the entire stack.

            “Damn it,” she muttered, tossing another ball into her right hand. After taking a steady aim, she fired her shot, finally knocking the rest of the bottles down.

            “Congratulations,” the teenager said, holding out his hand for the remaining ball. “You can pick any prize from the second shelf.”

            Emma scanned the small stuffed animals and lizard hats that lined the wall. She almost asked for a big lizard cap when she noticed Regina staring at a gigantic stuffed panda resting on the top shelf.

            “What do I have to do to win that?” she asked.

            The booth runner turned to see which prize she was referring to before saying, “You have to knock down all of the bottles in one throw.”

            Regina looked at Emma, noticing her face as it morphed into determination.

            “You don’t have to try for that, Emma,” she insisted. “Get one of the lizard hats. I know you want one and Killian will get a kick out of it.”

            The blonde turned to face her, eyes darkened with purpose.

            “I’m winning you that damn panda,” she said, putting down another bill. Obediently, the boy took her money and handed her another ball. She picked up the baseball, got into her stance, and launched it at another stack. This time, she knocked over all of the bottles except one.

            “Emma, it’s okay, I don’t –”

            The blonde interrupted her objections by slamming down another bill. “One more try,” she vowed, picking up another baseball. Regina watched as the blonde spread her feet, narrowed her eyes, and licked her lips, absolutely set on winning that stuffed panda. In one quick movement, she shot the ball towards the stack of bottles, finally knocking them all over.

            “Scoreeeee!” she screamed, throwing both of her fists into the air. Smiling, the booth runner extracted the panda from the top shelf and passed it to Emma.

            “Congratulations,” he said again.

            Emma turned to Regina, beaming from ear to ear as she thrust the panda towards her.

            “Emma, you really didn’t have to…”

            “But I wanted to!”

            Cracking a grin, Regina lifted her arms to take the gigantic panda bear.

            “It’s almost as big as me!” she exclaimed, pulling the bear in for a hug. Lowering the stuffed animal so she could see Emma, she said softly, “Thank you.”

            The blonde leaned forward to pet the panda’s head. “You’re welcome.”

            From behind the counter, the teenager smiled and waved. “I hope you and your girlfriend enjoy the rest of your day!”

            Emma glanced back, surprised but not bothered. “Oh, we’re not dating.”

            “We’re just best friends,” Regina added.

            The boy blushed and took a step back in embarrassment. “My apologies.”

            “It’s fine,” Emma assured him. “Thanks!” she bade, waving.

            The two started walking away, further down the line of carnival games.

            “Girlfriend, huh?” Regina laughed.

            “I know! I can’t believe he thought we were dating…”

            “Well, you did just win me an adorable stuffed panda bear,” the brunette replied, holding up her new friend.

            “Yeah, I guess so…” Emma trailed off, surveying the other games that were being played. Some screams echoed from a nearby roller coaster, and the girls glanced over to watch a car fly through the air. When Emma’s attention was fixed on the games once more, she noticed something that made her jump in excitement.

            “Ooh, look! There’s a photo booth!” she exclaimed. She grabbed Regina’s hand and tugged her towards the box sitting near the end of the line of carnival games. The brunette laughed, squeezing Emma’s hand back as they pranced across the pavement. They crawled inside and sat on the bench, setting the panda bear on the other side of Regina.

            “It’s two dollars for two strips of four,” the blonde announced, reading the instructions below the camera and screen. The girls each dug out a dollar and inserted it into the machine, which came to life after being fed.

            The screen displayed a mirror reflection of what Emma and Regina were seeing. A clock in the top right corner counted backwards from fifteen. The girls glanced at each other to think of a pose. Regina offered up a “Rock on!” hand gesture, with her fingers wrapped into a fist except for her index and pinky. Emma reciprocated, and they both offered fierce looks at the camera as the numbers enlarged and reached zero.

            _Flash!_

            Their first photo remained frozen on the screen for a few moments so they could see it, then disappeared, replaced by the previous screen and a new countdown from fifteen.

            “What now?” Regina asked, smiling at Emma expectantly.

            The blonde lifted her hands in an “I don’t know” gesture before settling with sticking her tongue out at the camera. Laughing, Regina followed Emma’s lead, opening her mouth wide and sticking her tongue out as well.

            _Flash!_

            The playful photo lingered on the screen as the girls giggled at it.

            “Okay, nice one,” said Regina, already wrapping her arms around her best friend in a tight hug. She buried her face into Emma’s neck, smelling the coconut shampoo in her hair.

            Emma lifted one hand to the small of Regina’s back, the other across her stomach to her hip. The hug felt like the most natural thing in the world, and they’d done it plenty of times. They’d done it after track meets and football games, after academic competitions and good report cards. They’d squeeze each other tight for good luck and with congratulations. They hugged with reassurances before big tests and hard conversations. And they’d clutched each other close after every single breakup they’d had.

            Yet, this hug felt somewhat different. Emma realized that Regina had been there through most of life. They’d fought, yes, over boys and clothes and friends and stupid things, and sometimes those fights lasted for days, or even weeks. But they always made up. They always came back to each other.

            Emma thought about what the teenager at the booth had said, and she realized she didn’t want another boyfriend. She didn’t want a guy who would dump her as soon as something better came along. She didn’t want a girlfriend who would give up on her as soon as things got hard. Things had already gotten hard with Regina, multiple times, and yet their friendship survived.

            She wanted a girlfriend who she could argue with and not worry about losing the next day.

            She wanted a girlfriend who already got along with all of her friends without trying to impress them.

            She wanted a girlfriend who would slap Killian when he said something sexist.

            She wanted a girlfriend who expected her to put sunscreen on her back and reciprocated without needing to be asked.

            She wanted a girlfriend who would stay with her when she got sick, even when she told her not to.

            She wanted Regina.

            Regina smiled up at Emma once before turning her gaze to the camera.

            But Emma couldn’t stop staring at what had been right in front of her for all this time.

            _Flash!_

            Noticing Emma had been staring at her instead of the camera, Regina turned her attention back to the blonde. There was a strand of hair in Emma’s face, so the brunette reached out and gently brushed it aside.

            “What?” she asked, confused at the blonde’s sudden change in attitude but sensing it wasn’t necessarily a bad one.

            Slowly, Emma lifted her palm to Regina’s cheek, running her thumb along the smooth, lotion-sticky skin there. She moved the side of her index finger beneath Regina’s chin, pulling her head ever so closer.

            _Flash!_

            The picture on the screen featured two girls kissing, but neither of them noticed.

            Emma wasn’t sure if Regina would reciprocate. She had a gut feeling, knew she probably wouldn’t push her away.

            But when Regina started kissing her back, Emma felt relief flood through her like she’d jumped into a pool of cold water on a hot day.

            Regina smelled like sweat and sun block, and she tasted like French fries and ranch dressing. Her hand flew up to catch Emma’s cheek, and her other hand wrapped around the back of the blonde’s neck. They moved closer, and probably would’ve deepened the kiss had Emma not brought her hand down to Regina’s chest and broke them apart slightly.

            “Do we really want to do this?” she asked, gazing into dark coffee eyes. “I mean, we’re best friends. If something goes wrong –”

            Regina interrupted her with another peck to the lips. “I want this,” she whispered, running her thumb along the blonde’s cheek. “I want my best friend. I want _you_ , Emma.”

            The blonde’s lips spread into a wide smile. “Okay,” she agreed, pulling Regina in for another kiss.

            A tentative voice from outside the booth cut their kisses short. “Are you guys done in there?”

            “Yeah, I hear there’s a new herpes outbreak!”

            “Or, we would just really like our turn in the booth,” the first voice finished.

            Giggling, Regina and Emma broke apart and took each other’s hand. As they ducked out of the booth, they saw a red-headed teenager and his blonde girlfriend, who stared at the new couple as they gathered their pictures from the machine.

            “It’s all yours,” Emma relented, smiling. She turned back to the brunette, grinning down at their photo booth pictures and the girl that had just officially become hers.

            “Let’s go,” Regina said, holding her panda bear to her chest and tugging her girlfriend’s hand in the direction of the Devil’s Tail. “I think we have something to show to our friends.”


End file.
